840 - A set of five rare Chinese export Pronk blue and white porcelain garniture set, ca. 1737. In the pattern known as "The Four Doctors" or "The Doctor's Visit to the Emperor." Depicting Chinese wise men seated in garden at a low table where a large Ming dish rests. With lappet bands at the rims. Three of pear shape and two of trumpet shape. Illustrated in Howard, "Choice of the Private Trader," pg. 240, no. 284. Loan: Minneapolis Institute of Art, 1996, L96.226.225.5. Provenance: Earle D. Vandekar, London, 19 June 1986; The Distinguished Collection of Leo & Doris Hodroff. Reference: Scheurleer, Chinese Export Porcelain, fig. 200 where a blue jug is illustrated. Lot Essay: Cornelis Pronk (1691-1759) was appointed by the Dutch East India Company (V.O.C.) to "...make all designs and models to our satisfaction, of all such porcelain as will be ordered from time to time in the Indies..." Before the decade was done, Pronk had left the company and the number of designs known to be created by him was small. There are only four preserved designs in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Most were created in famille rose, Chinese Imari and underglaze blue, though some were also created in Japanese Imari. The overall cost of creating his designs was high and not many were ordered, most before the early 1740s. This was the second design provided by Cornelis Pronk between 1735 and 1739, the first being "La Dame au Parasol," also present in this auction. The design was produced in the present underglaze blue, famille rose, and Chinese imari. Dr. Jorg records orders for eighteen garniture sets - presumably sets of five - between 1736 and 1739. This set is remarkable for surviving as a full set. (Pear-shaped vases, each) height: 11 in x diameter: 5 1/2 in. (Beaker-shaped vases, each) height: 11 in x diameter: 5 3/4 in.